Networking Strategies That Will Get You Noticed by the Airlines

Networking is one of the few things you can do for your aviation career that is free and can begin on day one.

Sam Weigel

Friday, February 03, 2023 at 02:30 PM ET

Verified

Networking plays an important role in airline hiring, Sam Weigel explains. [Credit: Adobe Stock]

Key Takeaways:

Networking is a critical, often free, factor in aviation hiring, capable of overriding standard qualifications and securing competitive positions, as demonstrated by examples where strong connections led to interviews or jobs despite atypical backgrounds.
Even during a pilot shortage, networking remains vital for candidates to distinguish themselves, gain insights, make better career decisions, and secure interviews, offering a long-term advantage as market conditions change.
Effective networking involves actively engaging with colleagues, asking questions, obtaining contact information, and maintaining consistent follow-ups, ideally starting early in one's career to build a broad and influential professional circle.

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In early 2004, I was a newly-married freight dog flying single-pilot Part 135 for Ameriflight. A longtime colleague had just perished in a crash while covering my sometimes-hazardous route up California’s Owens Valley. I decided to redouble my efforts to get hired at a Part 121 airline.

This being a few years after 9/11, the majors were all in pretty tough shape, and even the growing regionals could still be very selective about who they hired. My airline of choice was Horizon Air, then the best-paying regional ($28/hour during the first year!), but they were notoriously choosy, and so far, my efforts to land an interview had gone unrewarded.